The big event in boxing last year was of course the long awaited fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, and while the match made a lot of money, it did not give the fans the action they desired. Now, this year’s most anticipated event is a match between Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez, a fight fans and followers of the sport hope can live up to the hype.
In part 2 of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with John David Jackson, I get his thoughts on some of the biggest fights set to happen in 2016. Jackson speaks on Bradley vs. Pacquiao 3 and what Bradley needs to do win the third match. John also shares his thoughts on a second Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout and if he could see it playing out different than the first. Additionally, Jackson breaks down Golovkin-Canelo and Kovalev vs. Ward. Here is what John David Jackson had to say.
Jenna J: What do you think would be the best way for Timothy Bradley to go about fighting Manny Pacquiao?
John David Jackson: To me Timothy is the better boxer, he can box and when he puts his mind to it, he’s one of the best boxers around. He doesn’t have the power, he’s not really a killer, so if he boxes Manny I think that would serve him best but for some reason he doesn’t seem to do that when he fights Manny, he doesn’t fight at his full capability.
Maybe I’m talking crazy, maybe I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but if Timothy boxes, I think he has a better shot. If he uses his boxing skills, I think he can out hustle Manny. It remains to be seen what Teddy develops for him to be at his best.
Jenna J: If Pacquiao wins again, the talk about a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch will start again. Do you see any chance of that fight happening or was the first fight enough?
John David Jackson: I didn’t want the first fight, I had no interest because to me the fight was made five years too late. I didn’t watch the first fight and I heard the fight was bad. I don’t think the fans want to see a repeat of that because Floyd wins again. I thought he would win the first fight five years ago, so I’ll pick Floyd again.
I just don’t think the fans deserve to see that kind of fight happen again. I didn’t see it then, but I heard it was bad, it wasn’t the kind of fight that fans were hoping for, and you’re gonna see the same kind of fight. Floyd’s gonna do what Floyd does best, he’s gonna pick you apart and win the fight that Floyd needs to win to satisfy Floyd and satisfy his pockets. Honestly, it’s not a fight that the fans need to be forced upon because Floyd’s gonna win again. There’s nothing that Manny can do differently to win that fight.
Jenna J: A fight that the fans really want to see is a fight between Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. If that fight happens, how do you see it playing out?
John David Jackson: That’s an interesting fight. You have to give the edge to Golovkin because he’s the bigger guy to a degree. I hate to say this but there’s more hype to Golovkin than people realize. He’s good but he hasn’t fought the best in his division, but that’s not his fault, I’m not blaming him for that. But when you hear guys say that he’s better than Hagler, no, he wouldn’t have beat anyone like that.
When people say Golovkin would beat Marvin Hagler, they’re either smoking something or drinking something or they’re just not with boxing at all. He’s good now in his era, but unfortunately for him in his era there’s not too many top middleweights, so he can run it. If he can fight these guys and meet them all, he would probably come out the winner.
It’s gonna take one hell of a boxer to outbox Golovkin and be able to maneuver him around the ring and neutralize his power and beat him, but I don’t see anybody that can do that right now at his weight. If there was a middleweight Roy Jones when Roy was younger, or a guy like James Toney, they would have taken him to school because Golovkin is strong but you don’t see the skill level that he has to show because he mainly out powers most of the fighters that he goes against.
If Golovkin and Alvarez fight, I don’t think it will be a slugfest, I don’t think Alvarez will stand toe-to-toe with him, I think he will try to outbox him and maneuver him around the ring. That would be a very interesting fight, if it happens it would be great. I doubt that it will happen for a lot of reasons, and I’ll go and record and say it, right now Alvarez is the cash cow for Golden Boy, and why would the want to stop the cash cow from making cash for them? Right now the fight makes no sense for those reasons.
Jenna J: If Sergey Kovalev beats Jean Pascal in the rematch, there is a chance a Kovalev-Ward fight will happen this fall. What do you think of that fight?
John David Jackson: The thing is, when you look at Ward, he’s a very good fighter at 168lbs, and what he did at 168 was tremendous. He cleaned his division out and he did what he was supposed to do, but he’s not a knockout puncher, and if you can’t hurt Sergey Kovalev and get his respect, then you’re in trouble.
Ward has nothing to keep Sergey off of him with. Yes he can grab and hold and he can do all these things that he does in most fights but if you don’t have power, you can’t keep a puncher off of you. That’s gonna be the difference in the fight. Sergey punches great with both hands, he punches in combinations, he knows how to feint, he knows how to set you up with the jab, he knows how to get inside and break you down.
If Ward can’t keep him off — and I’m not talking about running and holding and doing what he does best — then he’s in trouble, and he’s not been able to do that. You can’t name one fighter at 168 that he knocked out, he beat them all decisively but he never really hurt one fighter, and if you can’t hurt Sergey, you’re gonna have problems.
I though this guy know in boxing but he has a very wrong analysis,look at the movement of the two fighters. I’m sure you’re analysis will be mistake.